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Skill
Skills represent a character's abilities, education and mundane training. All character's start with certain number of skill points to spend on ranks in the various skills. As he gains new levels he gains more points to spend on his existing skills or to spend on new skills. Skills are modified by the character inborn talents as represented by his ability bonuses or penalties, and by some of his feat choices When your character uses a skill, you make a skill check to see how well he or she does. The higher the result of the skill check, the better. Based on the circumstances, your result must match or beat a particular number (a DC or the result of an opposed skill check) for the check to be successful. The harder the task, the higher the number you need to roll. Circumstances can affect your check. A character who is free to work without distractions can make a careful attempt and avoid simple mistakes. A character who has lots of time can try over and over again, thereby assuring the best outcome. If others help, the character may succeed where otherwise he or she would fail Craft (WIS) The following classes don’t get Craft as class skill (don't remember ever seeing an official class that doesn't have this one): - DFAs: Their entire being revolves around honing their natural facilities. - Druids: They utilize whatever nature has to offer – which is more than enough for them. - Ghostknives: They shape their own equipment by the power of their minds. - Rogues: They don’t build stuff, they just take what they need and improvise when a specific item is not at hand. Whatever they do require that’s associated with Craft, they can do with C-C level of expertise just fine. - Sorcerers: Their defensive and offensive capabilities come from within and are not dependent upon mundane gear – certainly not to a point that requires master craftsmanship. Craft (alchemy) (INT) Except for Everburning Torch & Holy Water, Special Substances And Items don't require any spellcasting background. Also, all alchemical substances detailed in CSco and RoS are also viable for creation by non-casters. The creation time for alchemical gear is measured vs. silver pieces, not copper - making them 10 times faster. This makes an adventuring alchemist a viable concept, but without allowing one to always be prepared with limitless supply of arsenal (which would've been the result of measuring preparation time vs. gp). And here's an interesting approach for speeding up alchemy results with particularly successful checks (however, I don't subscribe to the possibility of noncasters producing magical items/substances). Craft and Appraise Ranks in a given craft automatically count as ranks in Appraise regarding products of that specific craft - even for someone that has no ranks in Appraise. Diplomacy (CHA) Redefinition: http://www.thealexandrian.net/creations/advanced-rules/diplomacy.html Motivation: http://www.thealexandrian.net/creations/advanced-rules/diplomacy-design.html Note: Diplomacy is ineffective in combat, unless you know something of relevance to your target that would make it pause & think. Disable Device (DEX, Trained Only) Disable Device and Open Lock boil down to single skill - Disable Device. The DC for un/locking a lock is always +5 to the given value. This actually makes locks a lot harder to handle properly than just jamming an arbitrary device. The DC for jamming a lock is actually -5 to the given value. Jamming a lock is relatively easy. Hide (DEX) Hiding is not just a matter of being totally out of sight – it's also about timing and positioning (e.g. going behind someone's back, or passing when no one's looking at your direction) – people actually do such things IRL. However, in the absence of cover, it's much more difficult to hide successfully, and when observed, you must really be a wizard at hiding to escape someone's notice. Therefore, the following options are open to anyone who's "good enough" at hiding: • Camouflage: There's no terrain requirement, but you must beat the best Spot check by 10 points or more. • Hide in Plain Sight: HiPS is a skill-trick that requires 12 ranks in Hide and 5 ranks in Bluff & Sense Motive. To successfully benefit from HiPS, you must beat the best Spot check by 15 points or more Profession (siege engineer) (WIS) Each rank is attributed to a different siege weapon. 5 ranks cover them all (Ballista, Heavy Catapult, Light Catapult, Ram & Siege Tower) Search & Survival (PER & WIS respectively) Track feat uses Search skill rather than Survival (you're searching for discrepancies in the landscape) You need at least 1 Survival rank in a given terrain (including urban) in order to track Tumble (DEX, Trained Only) - Tumbling in a threatened area: Roll once. The DC is 10 + BAB of the threatening opponent(s). Evaluate separately against each opponent. It's more realistic that you usually manage to elude some and some still get a crack at hitting you (and DC 15 gets way too easy at higher levels) - Moving through occupied space: DC = + BAB + DEX-mod - Avoiding an AoO: A swift action. DC = "to-hit" result News uses Diplomacy: Combat Diplomacy You can make a Diplomacy check in combat as a full-round action by accepting a +10 modifier to the DC. Opponents in combat with you are considered hostile. If successful, after the end of combat, you may make another Diplomacy attempt. The validity of both checks is subject to the DM’s approval, according to his/her assessment of the circumstances. Disable Device: Hide Tampering If you add +5 to your DC, you can conceal any tampering with a device. Anyone who inspects the device must make a Spot check against your Disable Device check result to notice your tampering. On a failed check, it goes unnoticed. Escape Artist: Conceal Efforts In exchange for a +5 to the DC, you can conceal your efforts to escape. Anyone who inspects your bindings must make a Spot check with a DC equal to your Escape Artist check result. If the check fails, they do not notice your efforts to escape. So, for example, you could leave your bonds apparently in place so a villain doesn't realize that you're actually free. Handle Animal: Obey Master Only You can teach an animal to obey only you. Teaching an animal to only obey you counts as a trick (in terms of how many tricks the animal can learn). It does not require a check; however, it increases the DC of all tricks you teach the animal by +5. Any person other than you who attempts to make the animal perform a trick takes a -5 penalty on his Handle Animal check. If the animal already knows any tricks, you must retrain it (with the +5 DC) in order to gain this benefit. If you increase the DC of the tricks you teach an animal by 10, you increase the penalty others take on their Handle Animal checks to -10. Heal: Draw Poison In order for this technique to be effective, you must perform it after the target has ingested or inhaled poison but before the saving throw against the secondary effects of the poison. With a successful Heal skill check against a DC equal to the saving throw DC of the injected poison, a character can suck the poison from his own wounds, or from the wounds of another and negate the poison’s secondary effects from taking place. In order for this skill use to have an effect, it must be applied before the victim is required to save versus secondary effects. This skill use requires a full round to complete – one standard action to prepare the wound and a move action to draw forth the poison. Draw poison can only be used to treat non-magical injected poisons. Try Again: Draw Poison cannot be tried again, as the healer will not know whether his attempt was successful until the time when the victim must attempt his secondary save against the poison’s effects have passed. Special: A healer’s kit applies to attempts to draw poison. Heal: Heal Self Taking a -5 penalty on your check, you can use the Heal skill on yourself to provide care, or treat disease or poison. Intimidate: Power Intimidate For each +5 you skill check exceeds the minimum required result, you increase the penalty you inflict by another -1. Jump: Long and High Jump Normally, when a character makes a Jump check, he must either decide to jump for height, or for distance, not both, meaning it is difficult for a character to leap across a pit and onto the top of a low hanging wall. Using this optional new use, however, it is possible for a character to both leap forward and upwards. When performing a long and high jump, the DC of the check is equal to the sum total of the standard DCs for distance to be leapt and height to be reached. So, for example, a character who wishes to leap across a 20ft gap and grab the edge of a 4ft high stone wall on the other side would have to succeed vs. DC 20 + 16, or 36. Likewise, to leap across a 5ft gap and grab a branch 6ft above the character’s head, he would require a successful Jump check vs. DC 5 + 24, or 29. A long and high jump can be performed from a standing position but the DC of the check is doubled as normal, so it will be a nearly impossible maneuver for all but the most skilled adventurers. Failure to successfully complete a long and high jump can be disastrous. On a failed Jump check, the character lands directly at the foot of the high object he was attempting to grab; if the character was leaping across a chasm, this means he will fall, potentially to his death. Sense Motive: Evaluate You can use Sense Motive to make an assessment of a social situation. With a successful check (DC 20), you can get a feeling when something is wrong. You can also tell if someone is trustworthy and honorable (or not) with an opposed Sense Motive against their Bluff check. For every +5 you top the DC of your Sense Motive check, you learn one fact about the situation at hand when evaluating a situation or individual. The DM may tell you things like someone's apparent goal(s), the nature of an interaction, and so forth. Sense Motive: Combat Evaluate As a full-round action, you study a single opponent to understand his fighting style, current disposition, and combat plans. This target must be within 30ft of you. Make a Sense Motive check opposed by your target's attack bonus. If you succeed, you gain a +1 to your hit rolls and AC against that target. If you fail your check by 5 points or more, you read your foe incorrectly. For the rest of the encounter, you suffer a -1 penalty to your combat bonus against her. In return for a -5 penalty to your skill check, you increase the bonuses provided by the combat evaluate use of Sense Motive by +1. You can increase the penalty to -10 to increase the bonuses by +2. The penalties you suffer for a check that fails by 5 points or more do not increase. Sense Motive: Notice Influence You can make a Sense Motive check to notice someone acting under supernatural influence. The DC is 10 + the power's equivalent spell-level. Sleight of Hand: Misdirection You can use exaggerated movement to misdirect someone's attention away from someone or something else. As a move action, make a Sleight of Hand check opposed by your target’s Spot check. If you succeed, you gain a bonus to your next Sleight of Hand check (current or next round only) equal to the amount by which you beat the target’s Spot check. A successful check also creates enough of a diversion to allow others to attempt Hide or Move Silently checks in regards to your target. Your target must be able to see you in order to use this skill to distract them. Special: You gain a +5 bonus to this check if your target wants to believe you. Sleight of Hand: Mass Misdirection In return for a –5 penalty, you can misdirect everyone within 30ft. If you increase the penalty to –10, you can misdirect everyone within 100ft. Swim: Rescuing Rescuing another character that cannot swim (for whatever reason) requires 2 successful consecutive Swim checks at DC+5, and allows both of you to remain afloat. Skill Tricks Catfall 8, Tumble 12 Your ability to survive falls has become so extraordinary as to seem supernatural. When using the Tumble skill to reduce the effective distance of a fall, for each 10 points you beat DC 15, you reduce the effective distance of a fall or throw by an additional 10ft. Combat Balance 5, Concentration 4, Spot 2 You move with such grace and agility that you are no longer flat-footed when balancing. Combat Climb 10, Concentration 5, Tumble 2 You’re not flat-footed while climbing. Also, you do not have to make a Climb check to maintain your position if you take damage. You climb in such a way as to brace yourself for any attacks. Conceal Action of Hand 9, Spot 5 You can hide actions performed in plain view, performing them so stealthily and quickly that others can only see the results and not the action itself. This ability lets you draw and conceal one object secreted on your person as a free action each turn, before and after using it in a concealed action. Opponents receive a spot check against your Sleight of Hand roll to see what you did. If they fail their roll and there are no discernible results, they will not be aware you performed an action at all. Potential uses: Stabbing someone in the middle of a crowd. To passersby it'll seem as though the victim suddenly gained a stab wound, while you don't appear to have done anything. Delayed Sabotage Device 5 You can set an object to break after a certain amount of use. When making a Disable Device check to sabotage an item, you can spend an extra full-round action to gain greater control over when it breaks. You can set the item to break after a set number of usages (up to 100) or to break after a set amount of time (up to one week). Eyes on the Prize 8, Spot 5 You have trained your eyes to pick out valuable items out with but a cursory glance. As a full-round action, you can make a DC 20 Appraise check to recognize the single most visibly valuable item within your range of sight (disregarding unseen factors such as most magic) and of which other items are visible worth at least 100 gp. The precise value of items is not revealed in this way. Face in the Crowd 1, Hide 5 You gain a +5 circumstance bonus to your Hide checks when within a crowd. Haggler 5, Negotiator You can talk others into making more profitable transactions, at least for yourself. As a full round action, you can make a DC 15 diplomacy check against an indifferent, friendly, or helpful merchant. If you succeed, you may increase the amount that you sell a single item for or decrease the amount that you buy a single item for by 1d6 gp + 1d6 gp for every 5 points by which your check exceeded the DC. If the item is worth at least 1,000 gp, multiply this result by 10. If the item is worth at least 10,000 gp, multiply this result by 100. You may not increase or decrease the price of any item beyond 75% of its market price in this way. You can use this skill trick on a given merchant once per day. Kangaroo Leap 5, Athletic You can use the inertia from one jump to make another If you have jumped at least 10ft within the past round, you may spend a swift action to avoid doubling the DCs of Jump checks made without running starts for a single round. If you do make a running start, you gain a +4 bonus to the check. Leaping Crane 4, Jump 5, Tumble 2 Normally, when a high jump is successfully attempted, the jumper is left holding onto the ledge or the branch that he leapt up to grab, and must pull himself onto the object with a Climb check and a move action. With powerful legs and more than enough control, you simply bound to the top of the object you wish to scale, by increasing the DC of your Jump check to five times the height of the jump, rather than four times, thus forgoing the need for another move action and a Climb check. Master Tracker 8, Survival 5, Track You have seen hundreds of tracks before, allowing you to identify them on sight. As a swift action, you may make a Search check in place of a knowledge check to identify what kind of creature left a set of tracks (though no other information is provided in this way). More You than You 12, Diplomacy 8 You can trick others into thinking the one you impersonate is the imposter. If both you and a creature you disguise as are visible in the same place and at the same time, you may spend a swift action to make a disguise check opposed by the original’s diplomacy check with a +10 bonus. If you succeed, all creatures who haven’t pierced through your disguise assume that the original is the fake (though future evidence may place this in doubt). My Own Creation (SOMETHING) 7, Spot 3 You made the sword. Of course you're good with it. You gain a +1 modifier in your favor on all numeric values and checks associated with all objects of your selected Craft skill (+1 to attack, damage and maneuvers for weaponsmithing; +1 to AC & Max-AGI and -1 ACP for armorsmithing; +1 on all Perform checks with a musical instrument or lock picks etc). Note: You must be proficient/trained in the use of the item you're creating and the result must be a masterwork item for this benefit to take place. Read Lips 4, Concentration 2 You can understand what others are saying by watching their lips move. You must be able to see them speak and understand the speaker's language. The base DC is 10. Add +5 to the DC for complex speech, an inarticulate speaker and for each 10ft distance. You have to concentrate on reading lips for a full round before making your Spot check, and you can't perform some other action during this time. You can move at half speed but not any faster, and you must maintain a line of sight to the lips being read. If the check succeeds, you can understand the general content, but you usually still miss certain details. If the check fails, you can't read the speaker's lips. If the check fails by 5 or more, you draw some incorrect conclusion about the speech. Writer's Note: I initially thought of making this a skill on its own, but in terms of both realism and SkPts cost, it's much more fitting for this one to be a skill-trick. The main reason I've separated this ability from the standard Spot skill is because very few people - even most of the best scouts - can truly discern what one's saying just by seeing their lips moving. And as an added value, it's now more effective. Resuscitation 5 You can save the life of a suffocating creature. As a full-round action, you can make a DC 20 Heal check against a suffocating creature. If you succeed, and the target is in an environment where it can breathe, it stops suffocating. Note: If the drowning creature was previously below their current hit points before they started drowning, this skill trick has no effect on them. Nice try, though. Roll with it 6, Tumble 4 When falling, you take damage as if the fall were 20ft shorter than it actually is. Split-Second Forgery Forgery, Sleight of Hand 5 You can forge a short note, message, or memo with the greatest of ease. As a full-round action, you may make a Forgery check with a –5 penalty to write down a short message with up to one word per rank in Forgery you possess. Tend to the Many 12 You can provide medical care to a great many people. By spending an extra eight hours tending to the sick, you can provide long-term care for up to one person per rank of Heal that you possess, rather than just for 6 individuals. You can use this skill trick once per day. Trap Spotter aspect of Rogue's Expertise feature Whenever you come within 10ft of a trap, you receive an immediate Perception skill check to notice the trap. This check should be made in secret by the DM. Uncanny Awareness 8, Spot 5, Investigator You have a knack for spotting the hidden, even when not actively trying to. As a swift action, you can make a single Search check as if searching all squares within 20ft line of sight, learning as much as if you had taken 10. This does not enable you to notice details obviously hidden from your immediate line of sight (such as writing written on the underside of a table). Whip Climber Rope 5 ranks, proficiency with the whip You can use a whip as a makeshift grappling hook, lashing it around a protrusion or other firm, weight bearing object in order to climb a wall or swing across a chasm. You make Climb checks using the whip as if it were a normal rope. Using this feat requires a Use Rope check as normal for securing a grappling hook (PH 86) but takes only a move action. Senses Smell DC Task 15 Notice (but not identify) a distinct and obnoxious smell, such as ghast’s stench. No action required. 20 Identify a familiar smell. 20 Locate a particular scent when actively sniffing for it. Requires 1 minute. No retry. 25 Identify a known distinct and obnoxious smell, such as ghast’s stench. No action required except on retries (which requires a move action). 25+spell level Identify a potion. Requires 1 minute. No retry. 25+spell level Smell the lingering effects of a magical spell with material components. Requires 1 minute. No retry. 30 Identify a semi-familiar smell. 30 Notice a particular scent without actively sniffing for it. No action required. 30 Determine if a particular creature is diseased. Requires 1 minute. No retry. 40 Determine the type of infliction a diseased creature has. Requires 1 minute. No retry. Taste DC Task 5 Identify the type of food or drink being consumed. No action required. 10 Determine if some food or drink is spoiled. 20 Determine if some food or drink is poisoned. Requires a full-round action. No retry. 25+spell level Identify a potion. Requires 1 minute. No retry. 30 Determine the type of poison within food or drink. Requires a full-round action. No retry. Touch DC Task 10 Recognize a familiar face. 15 Recognize a word in a hand-written text. 1 Round 20 Recognize an unfamiliar face. 20 Notice fine cracks, scrapes or dents upon a hard surface 25 Find hidden writing on a piece of paper or parchment 30 Recognize a word from a printed text. 3 Rounds Scent: +8 to all Smell checks (canines receive an extra +4 racial bonus, and bears receive +8). Echolocation: +8 to all Listen checks (-2 to saves vs. sonic attacks, unless noted otherwise). Tremor Sense: +4 to all Touch checks Every now and then stories appear about extraordinary weapons of unusual quality & traits that don't show any (Su)/(Sp) properties (Siegfried's starmetal sword (Ring of the Nibelungs), Excalibur, etc). Here's an attempt to define rules for creating such legendary items without the assistance of magic: Code: Weapon Trait Ranks DC Materials Prices Stainless, Lightness * 5 20 Mithril material value Masterwork quality 5 20 – as normally given for Masterwork weapons Legendary quality (+1 hit / +2 dmg) 8 30 – Masterwork value * 10 DR breaching 5 20 < Adamantine / alchemical-silver / cold-iron > Composite DR breaching 7 25 2 Special Materials 5 * material values Complex DR breaching 12 35 3 Special Materials 10 * material values Keen 6 23 – 2nd SL emanating power Vorpal 10 30 Adamantine 5th SL emanating power * Lightness means that any weapon made of Mithril Can be treated as a weapon of one speed category lighter than normal whenever it would be convenient to do so. Note: When combining 2 or more traits (except encompassing traits), the prices stack and the DC equals the highest, plus 5 for each additional trait. For instance, the most exquisite of all weapons would have the following properties: Stainless (DC 20), Legendary quality (DC 30), Complex DR breaching (35), Vorpal (30). The DC for creating such a legendary weapon would amount to 35+5+5+5 = 50. The prices for all traits stack. Skills *Heal(skill) *Slight of Hand Category:Skills